What to do to solve the riddle of vine rootstock induced drought tolerance

Plant diseases are a major obstacle to crop production. The main approaches to battle plant diseases, consist of synthetic chemicals to attack infecting pathogens. However, concerns are increasing about the effects of chemicals in the environment, leading to an increase in the use of biocontrol agents (BCAs), due to their assets, such as, antagonism, and competition. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the introduction of Bacillus subtilis PTA-271 (Bs PTA-271) and Trichoderma atroviride SC1 (Ta SC1) produce distinctive modifications in the composition and network structure of the grapevine rhizosphere microbial community, as well as grapevine induced defenses.

Using grapevine genetic diversity is one of the strategies to adapt viticulture to climate change. In this sense, assessing the plasticity of cultivars in their responses to environmental conditions is essential. For this purpose, the drought tolerance of Grenache, Tempranillo and Semillon cultivars grafted onto SO4 was evaluated at two experimental vineyards, one located in Valencia (Spain) and the other in Bordeaux (France). This was done by assessing gas exchange parameters, water relations and leaf hydraulic traits at the end of the season.

“Sulphites” and mainly sulphur dioxide (SO2) is by far the most widely used additive (E-220/INS 220) in winemaking and likely the most difficult to replace. The well-known antioxidant, antioxidasic and antimicrobial properties of SO2 make this molecule a practically essential tool, not only in winemaking, but also in the production of other food products. The current trend in winemaking is the reduction of this unfriendly additive due to its negative effects on health and environmental. In particular, it could cause headaches and intolerance/allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Wine is considered one of the major contributors of exposure of SO2 in the adult population, when this beverage is included in the diet.

The Maule region hosts up to a third of the total area of vineyards in Chile, in an environment where ancient practices inherited from the colonial past coexist with modernity and dynamism that include technified irrigation and fine vines. In the dry land of Maule there is a viticulture that has subsisted with ancient vines and traditions transmitted over generations, and there is little clarity about the origin and classification of the Maule viticulture, giving rise to the use of different concepts as synonyms to describe the ancient, minority, patrimonial or Criollas vines. In order to characterize and protect the ancient material, we studied the genetic diversity of a territorial collection that covers 80% of the communes of the region, prioritizing plants established more than 40-60 years ago.

Brandy de Jerez (BJ) is a spirit drink made exclusively from spirits and wine distillates and is characterized by the use of casks for aging that previously contained Sherries. The quality and sensory complexity of BJ depend on the raw materials and some factors: grape variety, conditions during processing the wine and its distillation, as well as the aging in the cask. Therefore, the original compounds of the grapes from which it comes are of great interest being in most cases the Airén variety. Their relationship with the quality of the musts and the wines obtained from them has been studied (1) and varies each year of harvest depending on the weather conditions (2).